NEW ZEALAND. Air New Zealand will significantly increase its trans-Tasman capacity from 2 July.
The airline will boost its total number of flights from Australia to New Zealand to 125 a week, making an additional 100,000 seats a year available.
Air NZ general manager Australia Michael Reed claimed that since launching the Tasman Express product in October 2003, the airline had stimulated passenger growth by +15%, and it was determined to sustain the growth.
An additional nine flights a week will be shared between Melbourne and Christchurch, Brisbane and Christchurch, and Brisbane and Auckland.
The carrier’s Brisbane-Auckland services will expand from nine to 12 a week, adding 1,176 seats to the sector each week.
Melbourne-Christchurch services will increase from seven to 12 a week, adding 730 weekly seats on the route.
Brisbane-Christchurch services will grow from four to five a week.
Latest tourism figures reflect the success of Tasman Express. Tourism New Zealand figures have shown consecutive growth in visitor numbers from Australia with a record 67,400 travellers coming to New Zealand in January, an increase of +26.8% on the same period last year.
Conversely the Australian Tourist Commission shows New Zealanders visiting Australia have also been on the rise, up +14% in January 2004 to 53,600.
